Tray



Aug. 18, 1931. w. w. HARTMAN TRAY 2 Sheets-Shee t 1 Filed July 15, 1930 Inventor William Walter J'fartman.

Aug. 18, 1931.

w HAR'TMAN 1,819,894

TRAY

Filed July 15, 1930 2 Sheets -Sneet 2 Fig.5.

Inveniar -WiZZLam Walter Jzartman Patented Aug. 18, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAY , Application filed. July 15, 1930. Serial No. 468,057.

My invention relates to trays or containers, and while obviously my improved tray may be used as a container for any article or substance for which it is suitable, I will describe it as put to a particular use in order that certain of its features may be better brought out.

v In the handling and packaging of readysliced bread loaves, it is necessary to hold the slices closely together so the sliced loaf may be handled as a unit during the wrapping oporation. The easiest and most common method of accomplishing this is to provide a tray in which the sliced loaf rests, the sides of the tray being high enough to hold the slices together. Such trays are usually made of light cardboard or paper. In the following description I shall describe the tray as made of paper, preferably waxed or oiled, though this reference to a particular material is not to be construed as limitative on my claims. Since the tray need be solely depended upon to hold the slices together only during the short time elapsing between theslicing and wrapping operation,after which time it is reinforced by the wrapping paper, and since the tray is destroyed after a single use, the material may be light and inexpensive. It is an object of my invention to provide as economically as possible, such a tray made from light material and yet one which is strong and rigid for the purpose.

Such a tray, made according to my invention, is folded from a single rectangular sheet of paper without any notching or cutting within the bounding edges of the sheet. This eliminates any cutting process and attendant manufacturing costs, and at the same time retains the full strength of the sheet at the corners. The method of folding is such as to reinforce the corners where the greatest stress comes. The foldin gs are interlocked with one another in such a manner as to prevent the tray from collapsing, but hold the walls in a substantially vertical position. Also, these interlockings are so located and constructed that there is not likely to be a tearing or pulling out of them, causing the tray to collapse.

A preferred method of making said tray will best be understood from the following description, and by reference to the draw ings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a tray made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of one end of a paper sheet from which the tray is to be folded, with the fold and interlocking lines indicated thereon, though it will be understood that it is not necessary to score or pierce the sheet before folding. This view may also, 0 be considered to represent a completed tray with interlocking tongues unfastened and the Walls flattened out in the plane of the bottom.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are fragmentary perspective views showing successive steps in the making of a tray;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a variational corner folding.

Reference to Fig. 1 shows a completed rectangular tray, generally denoted by the numeral 10, made in accordance with my invention. It comprises in its finished form a bottom 11 and vertical walls made up of sides 12 and ends 13, the bottom and walls all being formed from a single sheet of paper, uncut'within its bounding edges, as will be described. Fig. 2 shows one end of such a sheet 9 with the fold lines indicated by the dot-dash lines. The solid lines within the corner areas represent the cuts made to secure the several thicknesses of paper together, through these cuts are not made until the folding is completed. Creasing or scoring along the lines of subsequent folding may be used to accomplish the folding more easily and accurately, though it will be understood that when the tray is folded over a form, it is not necessary that the fold lines be indicated or scored.

Rectangular sheet 9 may be first folded lengthwise along the lines 15 to form the sides 12 as illustrated in Fig. 3. The ends 13 are next formed by folding along the line 16 as illustrated in Fig. 4, the portions 12a and 13a of adjacent vertical walls at the corners thus being folded upon one another and lea ing at each'end of the tray two right-triangular pieces or flaps 20 of double thickness extending beyond side 12 in the planes of the ends 13. The hypotenuse of each trian- I gle is formed by the uncut fold edge 17. The

flaps 20 are then bodily turned back against,

or in overlapping relation with, ends 13 as illustrated in Fig. 5, or against sides 12 as illustrated in Fig. 6. Preferably, however, flaps 20 are folded against ends 13, and I will describe them as being fastened in that position. The sequence of forming the-sides and ends is, of course, optional and may be reversed if desired.

After the flaps 20 are folded against the ends, they are fastened thereto thus cornpleting the tray as shown in Fig. 1. Proferably the fastening isaccomplished by cute through all the folds of the flaps and ends 13, the tongues of a given flap :and the overlapped portions of ends 13 being turned 'over together and tucked as one through the a corresponding registering slits. The fastening operations may be done very quicklyland easily by a punching instrument asdisclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,065,903 issued \toGeorge P. Bumpon'June 24, 1913.

It will be-observed that the-above manner -of :folding the tray provides a triple thickness of material at eachcorner, and that I take advantage-ofthisto-createa very strong three ply interlaced fastening formed :inte- ;grally from these three thicknesses "or folds of the material. Such three ply fastening naturally forms a much stronger and more dependable tray,-thani-a single ply fastening tongue:cou-ld-do. r From-the :foregoingit will be elearthat my three ply fastening, .in the completed tray,

has the three overlapping tongues 25, one

formed from-each of the threethicknesses of material, and these three tongues are interlaced as a:unitthroughthe-three-overlapping :slits 26 likewise formed in the three thickmesses of material, -i. .e., the two fflap folds and the adjacent tra-y wall.

As an additional feature ofimprovementl have found :it preferable that the lengthor direction of the tongues 25, in the finished tray, be disposed more or less ,parallel to the diagonally 'folded'edge -17 oftheflaps 20,see Fig. 1. 'When-thetongues are thus, arranged, (instead of beingimore'or less :at right-angles to the diagonal fiagp ed e 21-7 the fastening is especially strong and secure against the sort ofstrainthat issetup-byarticlespacked in the tray. Such strains usually'tend to rotate the'side andend walls 12 and 13-away from each other, respectively around their lfolded edges 15=and 16,zand=such dislocation isistrongly and effectively resisted when any :three ply tongues are approximately parallel to 'the diagonal fold 17, because then there is as'hearingaction set upacross the tcngu'esfii. and the tongues are-.amply-strong for resisting this shear across their widths. In addition ,-ithetongues, when-so located parallel to the diagonal fold,-do.nottendto pull ting side-by-side tongues 25 and slits 2'6- and :in the adjacent wall, thereby forming out of the slits, as would be the case with single ply tongues located approximately at plight angles to the diagonal edge 17 of the It will thus be seen that I have provided a very strong paper tray that is particularly secure-at the corners, and that I have accomplished this without the use of any metal fasteners, or adhesive. Metal fasteners cannot be permitted in connection with food packaging, because the risk of the fasteners becoming detached and entering the food, is too large, and likewise the use of adhesive .is objectionable for obvious reasons. The problem therefore was to provide a paper tray without any metal fasteners, and yet .having'corners as strong as though fastened with metal fasteners. My three ply fastening, incombination with my particular fold, all. formedfrom the.material of the tray -itself, solves}this problem very nicely.

It will be understood that the drawings and description are to be considered as merely illustrative of my invention, for various changes in design and construction may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. A-rectangular tray consistingofabottom and substantially vertical marginal walls thereabout, said-tray beingfolded into shape from a single rectangular sheet of material, portions of-the material from which adjacent vertical walls are formed, being folded upon one anotherata corner of the tray to form a flap, said flap being bodily folded against one of said walls thereby forming a triple thickness of material locally through said flap andadjacent wall, and interlaced triple iply fastening meansformed integrally from the material of said tray for strongly securing'eachflap to its adjacent wall, said triple ply fastening 'means comprising three overlapping tongues formed from said triple thickness of material consisting of the two flap thicknesses and the adjacent wall thickness, the said three tongues being interlaced as a unit through three overlapping slits formed respectively in both folds of said flap the strong three ply fastening for holding the flap against the adjacent tray wall.

2. A rectangular tray consisting of a bottom and substantially verticalmarginal walls thereabout, said tray being folded into shape from a single rectangular sheet of material, portions of the material from which adjacent yertical walls are formed being folded upon oneanother at a corner of the tray to form a flap, said flap being bodily folded against one of said walls thereby locally forming a triple thickness of material through said flap and adjacent wall, said flap having a folded diagonal edge extending at an angle from the bottom adjacent corner of the tray, and interlaced triple ply fastening means formed integrally from the material of said tray and located in said flap for strongly holding each flap against its adjacent Wall, said triple ply fastening means comprising three overlapping tongues interlaced through three overlapping slits all formed from and through the flap and adj acent tray Wall, and said tongues being so disposed in the flap of the finished tray that the length of said tongues lies approximately parallel to the said folded diagonal edge of the flap, to put the tongues in shear and to reduce the tendency of the tongues to pull out of the slits when the normal strains are put on the tray corners by articles placed in the tray.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rd day of July, 1930.

VILLIAM WALTER HARTMAN. 

